Marcus Corvinus
Marcus Corvinus is the original Vampire Elder, the ancestor of all Vampires and the main antagonist of Underworld: Evolution. He is portrayed by Tony Curran. History Born sometime in the mid to late 5th Century"After sixteen centuries, William, the father of all werewolves, was dead." ~Underworld: Evolution novelization, Marcus is the son of Alexander and Helena Corvinus and the twin brother of William. Like his brother William, he inherited the same virus, which had previously transformed his father into the first Immortal. Marcus had a strong bond with William before he became a Werewolf. According to legend, while William was bitten by a wolf, Marcus was bitten by a bat, which resulted in him becoming the first Vampire. William soon went on to ravage the countryside of Hungary, infecting the populace with his highly infectious lycanthropy virus. In order to combat the growing Werewolf threat, Marcus approached Viktor, a dying warlord, to borrow his military genius and army in exchange for immortality. Viktor accepted and became one of the Vampire Elders. It is possible Marcus also personally infected Amelia, as she is a Vampire Elder as well. 600 years later, in 1202 A.D., Viktor led a charge into a Hungarian village which William had previously passed through. Instead of finding only William, they found an entire village of newly turned Werewolves. Viktor's army (now the Death Dealers), including Amelia, subdued and severely injured William. Marcus pleaded for his brother's life, but he had been betrayed by Amelia and Viktor, who meant to lock William away for life. Viktor, thinking that if any of the Corvinus brothers were killed, the immortal bloodline would eventually die, (a lie told by Marcus), locked William far away from the reach of Marcus. Marcus then swore vengeance against Viktor and all those loyal to him, but was able to do little, as the Death Dealers were loyal to Viktor alone. As the army became the first Vampire Coven, the Chain was implemented, a system where only one Elder ruled while the other two slumbered. Viktor, with the aid of Amelia and the Vampire Council, undercut Marcus' power, ensuring he would never have the strength to free his brother. Thus Viktor remained the true leader of the Vampires, going as far as to allow himself being referred to as the "oldest and strongest" of the Vampires. Marcus claimed that he enjoyed the company of Andreas Tanis, the Official Historian of the Coven, most likely because Tanis knew that Marcus was indeed the original Vampire. ''Underworld: Evolution'' On the eve on Marcus' awakening for his century of rule, a Lycan plot to combine the bloodlines becomes evident. A captured Lycan scientist named Singe explains the plans of a powerful Lycan named Lucian under duress - and is killed by a death blow from Viktor. His blood seeps into Marcus' tomb and revives the slumbering Vampire, making him a Vampire-dominant Hybrid. Marcus beheads the treacherous coven regent, Kraven (who had attempted to assassinate him) with his wing-talons, after learning his memories, and burns down the Old World Coven, Ordoghaz. Determined that the time has come to free William, he seeks out Selene, a Vampire Death Dealer who holds half of the key to William's dungeon. He fails on his first attempt thanks to Michael Corvin, Selene's Hybrid lover, who is also a distant relative of Marcus. He learns from Tanis that the other half of the key is held by his father, who had retrieved it from Viktor's body. Marcus attacks and seemingly kills Michael, then drinks Selene's blood, learning the location of his brother. Marcus then confronts his father, and reveals his true plan - to rule over a new race, one in his image. He seeks to replace his "failed" race of Vampires who have followed Viktor more so than himself with that of Vampire-dominant Hybrids. Marcus then wounds his father, and retrieves the other half of the key. Journeying to the old fortress, Marcus proceeds to release William from his dungeon. Their bond is so strong that even the crazed William recognizes Marcus, and refuses to harm him. They are soon interrupted by Selene and the survivors of his father's company. Marcus combats Selene, and is enraged when a resurrected Michael fights and kills William. Marcus drives a wing-talon through Selene, who survives due to her having previously drank of Corvinus' blood. However, Marcus is distracted by the death of his twin at the hands of Michael, and is wracked by shock and grief. These emotions cause him to be temporarily stunned and off guard, and gives Selene her opportunity. She breaks off the tip of one of Marcus' talons and impales Marcus' head with it, before shoving him backwards into the still whirling blades of a crashed helicopter, cutting him to pieces and killing him. Powers Because Marcus is the first Vampire, his strength and speed are superior to that of the rest of his kind, including Viktor and Amelia. His transformation into a Hybrid greatly increased his already formidable powers and granted him the ability to transform into a demonic looking beast with bat-like features. The transformation gave him razor sharp wings which enable him to fly. He has also demonstrated the ability to use his wings offensively, such as decapitating Kraven and impaling both Selene and Michael Corvin. Marcus is an expert swordsman, having had centuries to master the weapon. In his normal Vampire form, Marcus has been shown to be able to summon his wings as shown when he used them to impale Tanis without fully transforming. He possibly still suffers the vampiric weakness to sunlight, which may have caused him to retreat from his first attack on Selene and Michael as the sun shone through the clouds. However, as Hybrids are implied to have none of their original species' weaknesses, this may simply be due to a long-standing fear rather than an actual weakness. Marcus has been shown to recover from significant injuries quickly, suggesting an advanced healing factor. Even when impaled through the head with his own talon he wasn't killed until his body was destroyed. Like the other two Vampire Elders, Marcus has the ablity to obtain memories from drinking blood. Trivia * Marcus' name is derived from 'Mars', the ancient Roman god of War, (a appropriate name for the son of a warlord.) * Tony Curran states in the production notes that Marcus is younger than Viktor, hence Marcus was only a Vampire for a few years before turning Viktor. "It also means that Viktor, who is played by Bill Nighy in a flashback sequence that begins the new film, was merely a usurper. “I was the first,” declares Tony Curran of Marcus, “but it doesn’t mean I was the most powerful. I was an arrogant young vampire; Viktor was a powerful man and when he became a vampire, being older and more experienced, he took over the leadership." ~''Underworld Evolution'' Full Production Notes * Marcus' name is misspelled as "Markus" in the opening text crawl of Underworld: Evolution. The novelizations, credits, official websites, and production notes all spell his name as "Marcus". Gallery Marcus.png|Marcus being slain by Selene. Marcus1.jpg|Marcus in his Hybrid form. Marcus2.jpg|Marcus is furious at the arrest of his brother William. Marcus4.jpg|The seriously wounded Marcus takes up the fight against Selene. References Category:Character Category:Vampire Category:Vampire Elder Category:Hybrid Category:Evolution characters